Mini-Guide: Epic!

LQ: 10.0

Epic! is a subscription-based, digital library of 25,000 books (as of December of 2017) aimed at children 12 and under. It includes fiction, non-fiction, STEM, biographies, graphic novels, and DIY among its genres. There are also read-to-me books, audiobooks, quizzes, and a variety of different types of videos. Users are allowed up to four profiles, each customized to the age and preferences of the child creating it.

As with any book (digital or print), it’s important to be aware of what your child is reading. However, this app is geared towards children 12 and under, and the books bear that in mind. Consequently it includes books such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle and My First 100 Words from the Bright Baby series. Even adventurous adults could get behind the young adult fiction titles like Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Barbitt and C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The ESRB gave Epic! an E for Everyone rating and we at LW4K stand by this assessment.

Focus

Getting started and then maintaining attention and effort to tasks.

Any reading provides the opportunity to practice focus skills. The fact that Epic! is an app makes it an even more effective tool for exercising focus. By selecting a book and paying attention to what is on the page, the user is choosing to ignore internal and external distractions. The focus required for a book depends on its length--some are short and require little focus, while longer ones may require focus to be sustained over the course of days.

With Epic!, users also get the added bonus of having audiobook and read-to-me options to help those who struggle with reading and focus. In both cases, the book is read to the user, providing an additional audio cue to help them maintain their focus. The read-to-me option also includes high-lighting the word being read. The vast selection of books also allows for the user to have a better chance of finding a book they want to focus on, thereby providing yet another boost for those who struggle with focus.

Reading

While it may seem entirely too obvious, it is worth mentioning that Epic! also helps with reading skills. Audio and read-to-me books provide a chance for the user to hear the cadences of reading fluently, as well as the proper pronunciation of new vocabulary. The variety of genres, and books in general, expose the user to more of the English language, allowing them to see options for both vocabulary and sentence structure. Quizzes and collections curated by Epic! (around a specific topic) will help build and check-in on comprehension skills. The more a child reads--and the more variety they read--the better their reading skills become. And Epic! provides a great deal of variety and opportunity to the user.